Pave the Way Foundation (PTWF), a non-sectarian organization whose mission is to identify and eliminate non-theological obstacles between religions, announced the discovery of new documents which prove, by his actions, that Pope Pius XII was in reality a friend of the Jewish people before, during and after World War II.

New documents discovered in the Vatican Secret Archives, byDr. Michael Hesemann,* revealthat Archbishop Eugenio Pacelli, future Pius XII, intervened in 1917, through the German government, to assure the Jews of Palestine that they would be protected from any harm from the Ottoman Turks. Dr. Hesemann further stated that Pacelli also directly intervened with the World Zionist Organization representative Nachum Sokolov, and used his influence to arrange for Mr. Sokolov to meet directly with the Benedict XV in 1917 to discuss a Jewish homeland in Palestine. In 1926, Pacelli also encouraged Catholics in Germany to join the Committee Pro Palestina, which supported Jewish settlements in Palestine.

Gary Krupp, President of PTWF stated that since the PTWF Symposium on the Pius XII Papacy in Rome in September, over 300 new pages of original documents have come to light and can be downloaded at www.ptwf.org. Among these documents, is the hand written archive entry of a Catholic nun, who details the 1943 order received directly from Pope Pius XII to help hide the Jews in Rome.The entry also lists names of the Jews who were sheltered. There is also a 1939 US Foreign service document in which the US Consul General to Cologne, Germany, reports to Washington on the “New Pope.” The diplomat states that Pacelli surprised him by his extreme hatred of the Nazi regime and Hitler and how Pacelli supported German Bishop’s opposition to National Socialism even at the cost of losing the support of young German Catholics. Another 1938 document signed by Cardinal Pacelli, then Vatican Secretary of State, opposed and helped defeat a planned Polish law, which would have made Kosher slaughtering illegal. Cardinal Pacelli opposed this law because it would have inflicted grave persecution on the Jewish people.

Mr. Krupp, who is Jewish and grew up despising Pope Pius XII, decided to begin this investigation when he discovered, through Dan Kurzman’s book, A Special Mission: Hitler's Secret Plot to Seize the Vatican and Kidnap Pope Pius the XII, detailed testimony from General Karl Wolff describing how Hitler ordered him to develop a plan to seize the Vatican and kidnap the Pope. The Pope’s restrained caution, with regard to public statements, which has been a source of criticism of Pius XII, was justified in light of the testimony of concentration camp inmates who faced increased punishments whenever church leaders spoke. There were spies within the Vatican itself, and German rifles less than 200 yards from the Pope’s very windows.

Our research shows a decisive change in international sentiment towards Pius XII, which came five years after his death with the play “The Deputy”, written by a German Communist Rolf Hochhuth, the life-long friend and defender of Holocaust denier David Irving. PTWF now has testimony that this play was financed, edited and sustained by doctored Vatican documents. This was part of a secret KGB plot to discredit the Vatican. This information was revealed by Lt. General Ion Mihai Pacepa, the highest ranking KGB agent ever to defect.

Mr. Krupp stated “I was surprised when I personally researched archived news stories from the NY Times and the Palestine Post from 1939-1958. I could not find one negative article about Pius XII. After two years of research, I decided that exposure of this information should be a project of Pave the Way Foundation in order to eliminate an obstacle, which impacts over one billion people. Personally, as a Jew, I find that correcting this revision of history, according to documented proof has really nothing to do with the Catholic Church. In the interest of Jewish justice we must acknowledge the efforts of one man during a period when as a people we were abandoned by the rest of the world. It’s time to recognize Pope Pius XII for what really did rather then what he didn’t say.”

Mr. Krupp attributes the lack of dissemination of this significant information to the refusal of the critics of Pius XII to actually physically visit and study the documentation in the recently opened Vatican Secret Archives. There has also been a refusal on the part of the media to give any coverage to the continuous positive information being publicized by the defenders of Pius XII.

*PTWF Advisor in Germany, Dr. Michael Hesemann, is a German historian and author who has written over 28 books including,The Pope Who Defied Hitler. The Truth AboutPius XII.

About Pave the Way Foundation

Pave the Way Foundation is dedicated to bridging the non-theological gap between religions through cultural, technological, and intellectual gestures. The Foundation has a simple yet monumental vision: To enable all the world’s religions to mutually realize that extremism, politics and personal agendas must not be allowed to poison the true benevolent message common to all faiths. Bigotry and hatred must be abolished by the true faithful embracing their similarities and savoring their differences. More information on the Foundation can be found at www.ptwf.org.